Category Archives: WSA

[Updated 5/7/19, 12:05 PM by michelle]: Due to some apparent wishful thinking and quick posting, I assumed that Japanese Breakfast was headlining Spring Fling. Turns out, Japanese Breakfast is actually Act 1, Rico Nasty is Act 2, and Jay Crutch is headlining for Act 3. The post has been updated to reflect that.

The Spring Fling Committee has created a playlist (on Spotify and Apple Music) to introduce you to the headliners’ music. You should also read on after the jump to learn more about these artists, the opener (TBD), and what you have to look forward to on May 9!

As #FinalsSzn rapidly approaches/has already begun for many of us, Wesleyan has implemented some new policies which may impact how you address academic challenges this semester and in the future.

This afternoon, Dean for Academic Advancement Louise Brown in Student Affairs sent out an email detailing some changes to academic policies. If you haven’t been keeping a close eye on WSA agendas and committee reports (which are emailed out to the student body prior to weekly Sunday night meetings), you may have been caught off-guard by these seemingly sudden changes to policies that many students don’t even know exist. I do read all the WSA emails (bc I’m a big dork and like to look for fun things to report about), so I was vaguely aware of the new re-take policy, but I had no idea that the incomplete policy was changing.

Here’s a breakdown of what changed, what didn’t, and what it means for students and professors:

This week of testimony and media coverage has been painful for many individuals across campus. We invite you to gather as we hold space for anyone looking to process, vent, grieve, or speak our truths.

Reflecting on Dr. Ford: Student-Centered Gathering for Support and Solidarity

Tuesday, October 2, from 4:15pm – 5:15pm in Downey Lounge (294 High Street)

An optional gathering for survivors will follow from 5:15-6:00pm in Downey 200

This gathering is hosted by ASHA, SFCC, WSA, Title IX Student Advisory Committee, Survivor Advocacy and Community Education Office, Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, and Counseling and Psychological Services.

If you are looking for emotional support during this challenging time, please reach out to any of these confidential resources:

the smiling face of our watchful overlord, peering over the masses from his perch on the newly redesigned website

President Michael Roth ’78 is holding the third State of School Address today at 3pm in the Memorial Chapel, and Wesleying is liveblogging the whole thing!

As in previous years, the event is co-sponsored by the WSA, the Argus, and the Ankh. It will consist of an hour-long Q&A, moderated by three students—a member of the WSA, a member of the Argus, and a member of the Ankh. In an email to the student body about the event WSA president Emma Austin ‘19 shared links where students can submit their questions to President Roth or share a comment for student representatives to pass on to the Board of Trustees. After the State of the School there will be a student-only debrief in the Zelnick Pavilion.

In her email, Austin shared the history and intention of the State of the School Address:

“This event grew out of students’ desire for more transparency from the Administration. Scheduled at the beginning of the year and days before the Board of Trustees meeting, the State of the School is designed to ensure that student opinions are heard and heeded as they Administration plans for the years ahead.”

For an in-depth recap of the event in previous years check out Wesleying’s liveblogs of Roth’s 2015 and 2016 addresses. (Note: Due to low student turnout, Austin explained that the event was changed from an annual address to a biannual address, which is why there was no address in 2017.)

By the time classes start (aka today, happy first day of classes!), you’ll likely be successfully moved into your dorm, blissfully free from your parents, and finally finding the time to figure your shit out. Soon, you’ll realize that you have a little too much time on your hands — and you might want to fill that time with Organized Social Activities.

Thankfully for you, there are about 300 student groups at Wesleyan, so you have many, many options. Joining student groups is one of the best way to meet people outside of your dorm and in different class years. You could find best friends! Mentors! Something new about yourself! It’s all up to you.

As your Orientation Leaders, advisers, and basically everyone else including me will tell you — stick to the Rule of Seven. Each class you take, group you join, job you have, and any other thing you might do counts as one commitment, and you should try to have only seven full-time commitments per semester. With a standard four-course load, that leaves three spots for you to fill with whatever the hell else you want. That’s what this post is for.

“The main goal of Project No Red Zone is to highlight and make-known to all students the resources available to survivors of sexual violence on campus.”

During lunch in Usdan for the past few weeks, folks from the WSA and others have been tabling about Project No Red Zone, an initiative that began last year as an effort to raise awareness about campus sexual assault and resources on campus to support survivors. The project also aims to help promote a culture of consent on campus.

In the Facebook event for Project No Red Zone, organizers of the event posted 8 action items that anyone on campus can do to help promote a culture of consent:

Earlier today, I received a tip from a friend that yesterday (April 23), a group of older white “protesters” were demonstrating in the 100 block of Washington Street (between High Street and Main) around 2-3PM, and were displaying signs with messages like “White America is the real America.” After I updated today’s post with that information, Wesleying received several anonymous tips confirming that there was indeed a white nationalist demonstration on Washington Street yesterday afternoon.

Those submitting the tips said that they overheard the group of white nationalist demonstrators planning an “anti affirmative action” demonstration outside of the Office of Admission at 9PM tonight. But that’s not exactly how it panned out.

In an effort to make menstruation products more accessible on campus, the WSA announced on February 10th, that in partnership with Davison Health Center—low-cost pads and tampons will be available at the Health Center.

Here are some details from the email:

“The Health Center has purchased bulk supplies of Naturelle regular absorbency tampons and Maxithins individually wrapped sanitary pads. Supplies will be available 6 days a week when the Health Center is open. The cost is $2.00 for 15 tampons and $2.00 for 10 maxi-pads, and students can pay by cash or charge to their student account.”

“In addition to reduced wait times for initial appointments, as well as more regular ongoing appointments, we expect the increase in staffing will improve comprehensive services for sexual violence prevention and treatment and allow the team to continue building stronger relationships with marginalized students and student groups through outreach activities.” – Dean Whaley

Yesterday afternoon, Dean Mike Whaley sent out an all-campus email informing the student body that an additional full-time psychotherapist will be joining CAPS in the fall of 2017. This comes after the announcement of the hiring of a full-time APRN after more than a semester without a prescriber (part-time or full-time) on campus.

According to Whaley’s email, the new hires “will improve comprehensive services for sexual violence prevention and treatment and allow the team to continue building stronger relationships with marginalized students.”

The email, however, leaves out any discussion of the student-organized campaign and WSA resolution from last semester that originally proposed expansions in CAPS. Read past the jump for the full text of Dean Whaley’s email and more context on the student efforts that made this new staff position a reality.

Full disclosure: I’m a member of USLAC and one of the proponents of the resolution discussed in this feature.

Perhaps you’ve heard about the resolution that passed at Sunday night’s WSA meeting but probably not because the only WSA-related things we hear about are Argus controversies with its ~concise, catchy~ title, “Resolution to Raise the Minimum Wage for Wesleyan Students.” All jokes aside, that’s exactly what it aims to do. The resolution, proposed by a group of WSA members working with members of student groups United Student/Labor Action Coalition (USLAC) and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), seeks to address the issue of overworked students and their low wages.